Frazier

NAME: Madeline Kneberg named the Frazier point for examples from the Frazier site in Benton County, Tennessee.

AGE: No examples of this type were recovered in a controlled setting in the Tennessee River Valley.The type is fairly rare in Alabama and the cultural association is unknow, but examples usually appear in surface collections from Early Archaic sites.Kneberg suggested a Late Archaic to perhaps Middle Woodland association from 1500 B.C. to as late as A.D. 100 to 300.

DESCRIPTION: The Frazier is a medium-sized, narrow point with a thin basal edge.Tennessee examples range from 2 to 2.75 inches and Alabama examples are generally slightly shorter averaging 49mm in length.The blade is formed with shallow, broader flakes with shorter, deeper secondary flakes along the blade edge.Some retouch flaking along the blade edges results in a serrated appearance.The cross-section is flattened and the distal end is acute.The sides of the basal edges are straight and the basal edge is usually straight, but may be slightly incurvate.The basal edge is thinned with flakes that are slightly broader and longer than those along the blade edges, is thin and may rarely be slightly smoothed.

DISTRIBUTION: The Frazier point seems to be limited to western Kentucky, western Tennessee and northern Alabama with examples recovered at the Cambron site in Limestone County, Alabama.